American Bred Episode 9: Stuff of Legends
by American Companion
Summary: TARDIS has been forcefully thrown from the vortex once again separating Katie and the Doctor. This time they're on opposite sides of a war, with the Doctor a prisoner of one and Katie helping the other. But other forces seem to be at work in this fight...
1. Chapter 1

A bright white light flashed into the Doctor's eyes. He blinked, shying away from it, trying to bring his hand up to block it out. His hand caught, and he realized that he was sitting in front of a table handcuffed to a chair. He tried moving his legs, but they were also secured. His coat and suit jacket had been removed, effectively stripping him of both the sonic and the TARDIS key. As the headache from the light died, he became aware of the fact that he was sore all over.

A tall figure stepped into the beam of light, his/her face nothing but blackness.

"State your name and rank," a harsh male voice barked. The language was Rapluan, a common language during the Third Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Fortunately, as with every language, the Doctor spoke it, though the man's accent made it a little strange. It sounded Southern, but Southern where? More pressing was the question of why it didn't automatically translate.

"The Doctor, and I'm a doctor. Can I ask what I'm here for?"

"You tell me," the harsh voice said. "How did you manage to get past the barricades into Ranngour?"

"Ranngour? That's not a planet."

"Don't play games with me. I want to know how the Iuhins got one of their people through the security perimeter!"

"Never heard of 'em."

"How did you get in!"

"My ship crashed," the Doctor said, pronouncing the 'ed' hard and clicking his teeth as he did so. "She does that sometimes."

"You fell through the barracks roof. There was no ship."

The Doctor looked curiously at the person. "Not even a box?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, well that's just…brilliant," the Doctor fumed, obviously not pleased.

"You expected your transport to hang about?"

"It usually does. Then again, it was having problems the last time I saw it, so you never know. Do I get a call?"

The man hesitated. "A call?"

"Yeah, you know, prisoners get to make one call, usually to a lawyer or something."

The smile in the man's voice was evident. "Where do you think you are? One of the central planets? Here on the outskirts, no one but the right side gets stupid privileges like that, and your voice makes it obvious where you're from."

"Does it?"

The man sat down in a chair across from the Doctor. The Doctor leaned forward slightly in hopes of making out a face, and he could sort of. It was all sharp angles and clean shaven, with dark spots framing it, marking him as one of the multiple forms of human crosses that were so common during this time period. The uniform he was wearing looked very crisp, with a fascist tang to it, and the symbols on his shoulders gave the Doctor reason to assume that he was rather high up the chain of command.

"I want to explain something to you," he said, his voice dangerously smooth. "Right now, you are an inconvenience. You have suddenly and inexplicably arrived in the middle of the most secure base we have. The soldiers have all declared that you fell from the sky. There is a hole in my roof to prove it, yet you have no parachute, and no weapons save this thing." Here he held up the sonic.

"Could I get that back?"

"So it does do something," the major…general…whatever he was, said. "What?"

"It…fixes…things," the Doctor said hesitantly.

"It fixes things," the general repeated, obviously not believing the Doctor.

"No, really, it's a screwdriver. I use it to fix things." He almost added, 'and break them,' but decided that wouldn't be a wise choice just then. The general sat up a little straighter.

"Never fear," he said, putting the sonic into his jacket pocket. "We'll find it out ourselves. Now, the only other thing you were carrying—no, the only other thing that seemed to be of any use, for you had almost every piece of junk imaginable somehow stuffed inside that coat. The only other thing that looked to have a purpose was this."

Here the general held up the TARDIS key. "Why were you carrying this? What's it unlock?"

"It's my house key."

The general leaned forward to say something when a door in the wall opened. The man looked towards it sharply.

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This had better be important."

"His medical results sir. They're rather…unusual."

The Doctor closed his eyes in impatience as the general glared at the soldier setting the file down. The Doctor spoke up in a complaint. "Oh, let's not start the whole, 'this can't be blood,' thing again."

The general opened the file in an irritated fashion and the door closed. He started to flip through it, skimming at first. His eyes narrowed and he started reading it more carefully, holding up a few different x-ray printouts where light could catch them.

"Two hearts…" the general said, mostly to himself. He glanced at the Doctor.

"What did you say your name was?"

"I'm the Doctor."

The general stood closing the file as he did so. He opened the door and stepped out. A few moments later, two soldiers stepped in. One undid his ankle restraints before pulling him out of the chair.

"Finally. Where are we off to now?"

"You'll find out."

The Doctor was led, rushed really, down several plain concrete halls, finally stopping in another room. It was rather small. A man sat behind a desk in the center of the room. In one wall was a safe, one wall was painted white and had a series of equally spaced black lines, and on the wall behind the desk was a picture of man in front of a flag. The Doctor assumed that it was their dictator, at least the official one back on earth. Even planets on the outskirts of an empire had to keep up appearances.

"What's this one for?" Desk Man asked in a bored tone as he pulled a triplicate form out of a drawer.

"Routine admission," one of the soldiers said. Desk Man wrote this down.

"Level Five then."

"Level Three."

Desk Man raised his eyebrows, still managing to look bored. "Three?"

The soldier shrugged. "Lathezia's orders."

Desk Man wrote this down as well. "Name."

"The Doctor."

Desk Man gave the Doctor a look. "I said name, not position."

"The Doctor."

"Name."

"John Smith."

Desk Man turned away and wrote this down in an irritated fashion. "Age."

"Thirty-five," the Doctor said, knowing that if he gave his real age Desk Man would likely do something nasty.

"Home country or planet?"

"Non-existent."

"Unaffiliated. Any family?"

"Not anymore."

Desk Man stood up, looking very tired of his job, as though he had done this hundreds if not thousands of time. "Stand him up with his back to the wall."

The Doctor was moved next to the lined wall. Desk Man took something from the safe. He held it up towards the Doctor. There was a small flash and a picture rolled out of the item. Desk Man pulled a clear tape off the back and stuck the picture onto the form. He stamped the paper and gave it to one of the soldiers.

"Take him for designation."

The Doctor was pulled down more hallways and delivered to another room. This one looked a little more ominous, with trays of instruments and padded chairs with restraints and bands of metal with rectangles on them and other assorted wiring. But the place still had more of a machinery feel to it, rather than medical. Another man that was bored with his job walked up, wearing a white lab coat, though it seemed to be more of a formality. He looked at the papers, his eyebrows lifting just a tad.

"Don't get a lot of instant Threes. Must have something planned for him. Well, sit him down. Sitting straight, head back, you know the drill."

The Doctor finally had his handcuffs removed, but they were simply replaced by the straps on one of the chairs. He looked around as best as he could, very curious as to what was going on. This was all very well organized.

Lab Coat selected one of the bands of metal. Rolling over a cart with one of the trays of instruments, he held up the band.

"Keep his head up. I need a clear shot at his neck."

The Doctor's hair was gripped tightly, pulling him up enough so that his neck was made vulnerable. He knew that struggle wouldn't make a difference, so he kept still. If they wanted him dead, they would have simply shot him.

Lab Coat swiftly wrapped the band around his neck, drawing it closed at the back of his neck like a collar, with the rectangle as the meeting point. A sudden sharp pain at the clasp made the Doctor flinch but Lab Coat ignored him. He worked efficiently, soldering the end and then fiddling with something on the rectangle. Every second he spent, the Doctor felt as though the collar was tightening until he could no longer breathe. Finally, he stopped.

"Alright, you can take him now."

The Doctor was rushed out the door and down several flights of stairs before being pushed into an elevator. The ride lasted for five minutes. The elevator stopped with a jerk, and the doors opened on a stone hallway with a little booth to one side. The Doctor's head was tilted forward and the neck band scanned in. Another man behind a desk typed on a computer. He too was surprised at the Doctor's designation.

"Level Three for a Fiver? Lathezia must have something planned for him. Oh, but this was sent down," he said, handing the Doctor's trench coat through the booth. The Doctor tried to reach for it, but one of the soldiers took it instead. The man in the booth punched a few more keys. "I've sent you the directions. If you have problems, call."

More hallways and stairs, all of the walls made of stone brick. The two soldiers went at a quick jog, nearly a run. Either they didn't want to stay long, or they didn't want the Doctor to have a chance to remember which way was out.

The trip ended in front of a door. There was nothing was really special about the door. It was just a metal door with a grate in the top half. One of the soldiers un-did his cuffs, while the other entered a code into the keypad next to the door. It swung open and the Doctor walked inside. He'd been in prisons before, including a few stone ones, and they were usually absurdly damp, but this particular cell was large(nearly ridiculously so), dry, and rather warm, with solid metal doors on two of the walls. The Doctor beamed widely when he saw the dozen or so people already in the cell.

"Roommates! I have to say, it was awfully nice of you. Nice place. Graffiti free, no mold, mattresses and blankets. Bit warm though. How long do I get to stay?"

"Until your light changes."

"My light?"

The soldier threw the Doctor his coat. "Ask your new friends."

The grated door was closed with a heavy sound. The Doctor watched the soldiers until they turned the corner, then he turned away, refusing to sigh. He could tell from a glance there was no way to break out of this prison, much less the cell, unless he had his sonic, which unfortunately he did not.

He looked at the people. None of them had moved, and the cloud of depression was tangible. Not a one looked to be under thirty-five, and they all looked like they were catatonic. The Doctor gave them another smile, not really sure what he was hoping for from them.

_Oh, I hope you're safe Kathryn._

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Katie stumbled out of the smoking TARDIS, gasping and coughing. After the Doctor had been flung out of the front door, TARDIS had continued to flip top over bottom. Katie had managed, somehow, to bring TARDIS under control and land her, but she was damaged. To what extent Katie didn't know, and she couldn't find out until the smoke lessened.

Katie looked around her, trying to locate where she was. She was in a pit, or something close to it. On all four sides, sharp hills of grass and mud rose a good twenty feet into the air. There was no way that she could pull the TARDIS out, and climbing for help would be a time consuming chore. She turned back to TARDIS, trying to judge how long it would be before she could do anything, whether it be fixing TARDIS or finding the Doctor.

"The second thing shouldn't be too hard," she mused, her Texan accent flavoring her words. "He's the Doctor, runs about saving planets and galaxies and moons and he is the hardest person in the known universe to find civilizations have died waiting for him. Isn't that just...peachy."

"Ahoy the blue box!"

Katie looked up the hill to her left where the voice with the Northern accent came from. A man with a pale clean shaven face and dark hair stood on the hill.

"Is everyone alright mam?"

"Well, she's not looking too hot," Katie said, gesturing over her shoulder at the still smoking TARDIS. "I'm pissed and the usual pilot recently went flying out the front door. Things could be better."

"Hang on," the man said. He finished topping the hill and descended carefully, sliding all the way. Katie turned back to TARDIS, rubbing her paneling.

"Now old girl," she said in a low voice. "What's hurt you, huh? What happened to you out there?"

She heard the man come up behind her, his boots making a squishing sound in the mud. "Are you the Doctor?"

Katie turned to face him, eyebrows raised. He seemed slightly put off. "I thought you'd be man," he said.

"He is," Katie drawled.

"Then you aren't him," the man said, obviously disappointed. "Is he in the TARDIS?"

Katie smiled sarcastically, leaning against TARDIS. "Yes, I just decided to stay out here talking to a complete stranger rather than save my best friend from a smoking time machine where anything could happen to him."

"Then you are one of the Companions of Time?" the man said, his voice taking an excited tone. Katie groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Please tell me I am not on Atlantis."

"Why would you be on Atlantis?" the man asked, a note of derision in his voice. "That's on one of the central planets, set up for science brains who fancy themselves as the great thinkers of this day, unraveling the mysteries of time and space."

"Oh, thank the vortex this isn't there," Katie said, relieved. "So, where is this then?" She looked the man up and down, studying him. He seemed human, but the reptilian look to his eyes marked him for a human cross. She guessed him to be somewhere in his early thirties.

"You said central planets. Is this one of the Human Empires?"

"The Third one to be exact. The year is 7632. You're on Beriin."

Katie winced. "7632. Not a pleasant year. Rather nasty actually. Plagues and bad art. Really bad art. So, Third Human Empire, outskirt planet, 7632. You're probably at war with someone."

"Yes mam. That's why we need the Doctor."

"You were looking for him?"

The man nodded. "We were signaling him, though we didn't dare hope. Digital signals through all of space, some from the surface, others through satellites. Messages with dates and places, all encrypted so that the Ranngour couldn't see them. We sent out time capsules even. Anything to get his attention."

"A digital signal." Katie's voice was heavy with disbelief. "You sent digital signals to find a man that travels through _time_. A man people have waited millennia for." She shook her head in pity. "How desperate are you, sweetheart?"

"Extremely mam. The Doctor is a man only told about in stories; he, his magic blue box, and his friends. Right now, the only thing that can help us is a legend."

"I'm sorry I couldn't come with better news, but I don't know where he is right now," Katie said, shaking her head. "Something hit TARDIS while we were in the vortex, and he went sliding right out the door. First time I've seen her doors open outward, come to think of it," Katie mused, her voice quieting.

"How long have you traveled with him?"

Katie shrugged. "I've known him for ten months."

A slight spark came to the man's eye. "Then you are a Companion. You could help us."

Katie opened her mouth to protest, but the man interrupted. "You've traveled with him. If nothing else, he trusted you enough to take you with him. Please, if you can do anything—"

Holding up a hand to stop further begging, Katie interrupted him. "Buddy, I've been to a lot of places, and done a lot of things, and the one thing I never do is turn down a cry for help. But I need to know what you've got going on."

"We're at war mam."

"Yeah, I gathered that. By why call for the Doctor if you're at war? What sort of stories have you got?"

"Stories where he prevents disaster, and right now, disaster is precisely what will happen if we lose."

"Could you be just a little more specific?"

"We need his help to prevent interstellar nuclear war, mam. And since he isn't here, you've just become his replacement."

Katie rubbed her forehead. They were expecting the Doctor of stories, some of which she had read. Whoever these Beriinians were, they were grasping at straws. She was a poor substitute for a legend. She had no idea what she could do.

Then again, when did the Doctor ever know what he was getting into?

Katie smiled at the man. "Sure. I'll need a little more of the details, but I'll give it a shot."

Instead of breaking into a smile as she had expected, the man opened his jacket and spoke into the lapel.

"We have a go on Indigo Cargo, we have a go."

Instantly, a flood of people came pouring down over the hills, all of them in uniforms. Trucks appeared and people with chains and pulleys jumped out. Katie stood stunned for a moment, then did an about face and slammed TARDIS's door shut, knowing the automatic locking mechanism was on and always worked. Whatever they wanted, at least they couldn't get in now.

The people had reached TARDIS. They started wrapping the chains around her, attaching lines and anti-grav tools. Katie made a move towards one of them.

"Get your—"

Someone grabbed her arm, restraining her. She whirled about, catching her assailant with a hard right hook. A dozen nearby soldiers moved for their guns before the man she had clobbered raised a hand to stop them, picking himself up out of the mud.

"Mam—"

"What are you doing with her?"

"We're just trying to pull your ship out. It won't be damaged."

"My ship, as you call her, is a living thing, and you treat her like a lady. If she ends up damaged… And what's with the army swooping in over the hillside?"

"We didn't know if you would help if you felt threatened, so I came over by myself."

Katie looked at him with half-closed eyes. "I have been through too much for soldiers with toy pistols to make me feel threatened. But people who lie to me, or deceive me in any fashion are a threat to themselves. That's how the Doctor works, and that is how I work. Are we very clear on that?"

The man nodded stiffly. Katie gave a light snort and turned back to the people trying to move TARDIS, pointing threateningly. "Treat her like the lady she is. I do not want to hear any complaints out of her."

Katie turned back around and started the walk up the hill, brushing past the man.

"Now, you've asked for help, and whether you like it or not, you're still going to get it. I need to know precisely what you're preventing, what you've got available to do it, who you've got doing it, more on the why you're doing it, and where you're trying to do it. So, whoever runs this place, it'd be good to meet him slash her slash it."

The man came slipping up behind her, for whatever reason finding it more difficult to handle the terrain than Katie did. "Who are you mam? I mean, what's your name?"

"Trouble. And stop 'maming' me. Gets annoying after a bit."

* * *

><p>*Constuctive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor didn't stay still for long. He had always refused to enter into any kind of a depression. Maybe there was some way out of here. Even if he wasn't going to use it yet, it would be good to know that there was an out.

He grimaced as he turned towards the door, rubbing the back of his neck. It still hurt where the rectangle sat, something that was very odd. He had expected the pain to dissipate. Ignoring the ache, the Doctor stuck his fingers in the door grate with the intention of pulling himself up to look outside and judge the distance to the keypad. Instead, the door swung in. The Doctor instantly let go. It slammed shut of its own power.

"It won't get you anywhere."

He glanced behind him. Only one of the people, a forty something woman by herself in a corner, was looking at him. Somehow, she seemed to have retained a small spark that the others had lost.

"The door's open," the Doctor said to her.

"The door is always open. Just like every other door in this place."

"Then why haven't you left?"

The woman simply blinked, as though the answer were painfully clear. Curious, the Doctor grabbed the handle and pulled. The door opened easily.

Despite the obvious simplicity, the Doctor stepped forward. Nothing happened, so he took another step, placing himself in the hallway.

Sounds of grating stone wracked his ears as the floor dropped away in front of him. He gasped and swayed on the edge. Staring across the gap, he noticed the walls around him shifting as well. A new hallway opened at the same time the original one closed off, and all down the new hallway walls were moving.

The Doctor pushed back against the door. It opened and he fell back into the cell. He heard the stone shift again, and when he looked he saw it had reverted back to the way it was before.

"Okay. Moving walls. Unlocked door, but moving walls and vanishing floor. That's new."

"You knew it wouldn't get you anywhere," the woman's voice said.

"Why does it do that?"

"The Labyrinth is a living thing," the woman answered. Her voice was toneless except for the barest hint of irritation. "Step beyond the door to your cell and it all moves one way. Stay in your cell and it all moves back. No possible way out, because it's always changing. Only the guards can get through. They've got something installed in their heads that directs them."

"And the collars?"

"The only thing we have to mark our time here," the woman said in the same voice. "You should know all of this. It isn't as though you're some new Fiver fresh from the field."

"Fiver? Is that what they call new prisoners?"

"Yes. Why are you asking this?"

The Doctor gave one of his sideways nods and came to sit down next to the woman. "I guess you could call me a Fiver then. Only just got processed."

"Impossible," the woman said, her voice picking up just a hint of life. "No one new ever comes to Level Three. Let me see your collar."

The Doctor obediently moved his head to the side. He could feel the woman lightly touching his neck around the collar.

"No chaffing yet…no rust or stains of any kind…newly attached…definitely a red…" Her voice trailed off as she took her hands away. "How did you manage to get into Level Three so fast?"

"No idea," the Doctor said, putting his head up again. He gestured to the woman's neck. "May I?"

The woman rolled her head to the side, moving her short brown hair out of the way. The Doctor shifted so that he was crouching instead of sitting, mindlessly taking note of the thread-like vine pattern on her neck. Another hybrid, that was all. He ignored that and looked closely at her collar. It looked a little tarnished, and the red marks around it showed that it had been around her neck for a long time. The small rectangle at the back of her neck was glowing red, with a string of blinking white lights right in the center of it.

"It looks like it's connected to your skin."

"Close to it," the woman said, putting her hair back down and looking at the Doctor. "As near as I can figure, it's attached to the spinal cord. Possibly the brain stem, but it seems a little unlikely. But who knows? It's not like I can take x-rays down here."

"Nurse?"

"Doctor actually. I worked the field as a medic before I got captured." She held out her hand. "Jennifer Nance."

The Doctor took her hand. "I'm the Doctor."

"You got a last name?"

"No, just the Doctor."

Jennifer smiled stiffly, as though she hadn't forced her muscles to do it in many years. "Bit proud of your degree, aren't you?"

The Doctor gave a smile in return. "Depends on who you talk to. So, Doctor Jennifer Nance, what's with the levels in this place?"

"Whenever it is that you're first captured, arrested, or whatever else, you get placed on Level Five. That's the lowest level here. You start with a green light, then eventually it changes to orange and you move to Level Four. Red gets you here."

"How long do you spend on a level?"

"There isn't any real limit," Jennifer said with a shrug. "Not that I'd be able to tell anyway. You lose track of time in a place like this. You just wait. Your light changes, guards show up, and you get moved. That's all."

"So this Labyrinth," the Doctor asked after a moment's silence, "they have all the walls changing…why?"

"Don't know. Just how it's always been. It's more of a psychological prison than anything. Doors open, and there's nothing really keeping you in, but if you step out that door and start walking you never know where you'll end up. That and the collars don't exactly help with the human feel. It's all just waiting. Nothing to do but wait."

"That must get old."

"Or you do," Jennifer mused cynically. "What exactly are you in for, anyway? Must be something right on the line."

"The line? Is that slang for something?"

"Not popularly. It's my way of thinking of crimes, that's all. Well, crimes according to the Ranngour. If you're in the opposing army, you might as well be a serial killer, in which case you've crossed the line. If all you did was steal a loaf of bread or something else small, then you haven't really crossed the line, in which case you go to a normal penitentiary. You must be right on the line. What'd you do, beat someone almost to death but not quite?"

"I guess you could say it was destruction of public property. Fell in through the barracks roof."

A small flame lit Jennifer's eyes. "Did word about the Labyrinth finally make it back to base? Did they send you in as a scout or something? Are we finally going to be pulled out?"

"Who's they?"

The flame died. Jennifer sighed. "Of course not. The Ranngour would never let news of this prison make it back to the Iuhins. Gotta keep the myth a myth, or the prisoners alone would act as a number boost against them, not to mention the new ways in."

"I take it the Iuhins are at war with the Ranngour."

"Where have you been for the past fifteen years?" Jennifer scoffed. "Everyone on Beriin is up to their neck in this war."

"I've been off planet for a while."

"Off planet," Jennifer repeated, obviously not believing him. "If you had been off planet, you wouldn't have been able to come back. You probably wouldn't have wanted to. Beriin is boony of the boonys."

"Boonys?"

Jennifer smiled again, this time just a little wider. "Boondocks. The sticks. The middle of nowhere. We're the planet no one cares about in an Empire that's falling apart. Half the time they don't even remember to collect the taxes."

"Then why didn't you leave while you were still able to?"

Jennifer smiled again, this time with pride. "Because I'm willing to fight for my scrap of homeland no matter how bad it looks. So, where are you really from?"

"Oh, nowhere really. Just a traveler."

"You picked a poor place to travel. Why are you here?"

"I'm an alien who travels through time and space in a big blue box."

Jennifer shook her head, almost looking like she wanted to laugh. "I don't know why, but I believe you Doctor."

"Oh, I just have one of those faces." He gestured around him. "You said that the Iuhins didn't know about the Labyrinth."

"They do, but not in any real sense," Jennifer explained. "The Labyrinth is a myth, one of the many legends this planet has. Stories say it goes under the skin of the entire planet, but people have discounted it for at least a good three-hundred years."

"But the Ranngour discovered it was more than a legend, and they've been making good use of it."

Jennifer nodded. "Yep."

The Doctor sat pensively for a few moments, reviewing everything in his mind. He was certain there was something he had missed, but wasn't sure what that was. Everything felt sort of repetitive, but that could have been because he had been in impossible situations before. Didn't matter, it would come to him eventually. It always did.

"So what's this war about?"

Jennifer grinned again. "It's a good old fashioned space race, Doctor. A good old fashioned space race."

* * *

><p>Four floors above the Doctor, General Logan Lathezia was in his office making a call. But he wasn't using the office phone.<p>

"He's here. I've gone through the medical files three times, and there's no doubt that it's him…Yes, he seems to be at the right point in his timeline, but Scorch isn't here…We tracked what looked to be a meteor in the Northern Hemisphere, but I think it's the TARDIS, in which case she's with it…I've placed him on the third floor, and if he's as clever as we believe he'll get the signal to her…Once she's here, what do you want me to do?...Nothing! But…yes, of course. I understand. Should I continue with this life when she appears? Understood. If you will permit me, I have one more piece of good news. I was able to take a TARDIS key from his coat. Recall on Scorch will be that much easier when she's ready."

Lathezia listened for a few more moments before closing the communicator. He closed and pocketed it before reclining in his chair. He held up the TARDIS key, contemplating it.

"So plain. Blink and you miss it. But it's my ticket to living my own life. I'll have to think of a suitable name. Jahra Delta-009 might get me some odd looks if I used it outside of the Laboratory."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Katie bounced uncomfortably in the truck bed. She could have gone in the cab, but she refused to leave TARDIS alone. Not that TARDIS needed protecting, but she was Katie's only chance to find the Doctor, and Katie wasn't about to let TARDIS out of her sight.

To his credit, and her annoyance, the man who had first approached her had insisted on sitting in the back with her. Katie had taken this opportunity to quiz the man about what was happening.

"Who are you fighting and why?"

"It isn't exactly a war, mam. There have been a few clashes, but nothing outright. We trade threats mostly, and try to see what the other side is up too, and if possible we stop it."

Katie raised an eyebrow. "You needed the Doctor to run reconnaissance?"

"No." The man shifted to a different sitting position and gave a small sigh. "Let me start from the beginning. A little more than five years ago, our sensors started to pick up something odd in our smallest moon. We investigated as much as possible from the ground, and determined from the readings that there was something radioactive at the moon's core. At the time, the Ranngour and we were still on good terms, so we worked together to send up an exploratory craft with two members from each country. Turns out the entire core of that moon is made up of a radioactive material 27 times more powerful than plutonium. The question immediately came up of how to pull it out, and what to do with it if we did."

"And that was where the schism occurred," Katie interjected.

The man nodded. "Precisely. The Iuhins saw a power source, while the Ranngour saw weapons that could devastate planets. Of course, that's only a generalization. Many people on both sides agreed with the other side, but by then the borders were closed, and the race was on. We have to find a way to safely extract, transport, and store the new element before the other side could."

Katie smiled lightly. "A Cold War and a space race. What fun."

"Cold War?"

Katie waved a hand dismissively. "Ancient Earth history. Two superpowers threatening each other, no one trusting anyone, spies flying hither and yon. I went there once. Word of advice; if you land in Russia during the Cold War, do not speak with a Southern accent. They will have you behind bars faster than you can say, 'What happened?' Made for my ninth prison break. Well, Doctor had to spring me, but I still got out."

The man blinked, unsure of what to make of that information. Katie smiled at his confusion and asked another question.

"That's the general picture, but what's the specific problem you're having?"

"That's hard to say," the man started. "When this war began, we were certain we had the advantage. The Ranngour may have superiority in arms, but we Iuhins have always been the scientists." He paused.

"But…" Katie prodded.

"But then everything started vanishing. The scientists, the supplies, what weapons we had, all gone. Sometimes we saw people, probably the Ranngour, making off with the machines, but how they got in and took them so easily is a mystery we haven't found an answer to yet. We were forced into open warfare, in which the Ranngour have the advantage."

"And now you're at the end of your rope."

"Not only are we out of options, resources, and moral, but now the Ranngour has all they need to finish this, and we have no way to get the supplies back."

Katie clicked her teeth, pondering. _Nothing to fight with, impending doom if they fail, impossible odds. Sounds like a normal day._

"Julius Robertson."

Katie looked at the man. "Pardon?"

"My name. Julius Robertson. I figured you should know."

"Gotcha."

The truck hit a bump. Julius looked over the edge. "We're here. It's our main stronghold, and one of the last. Though when I say stronghold, I use the word loosely."

Katie sat up, looking around her. It had a WWII flavor to it, but was futuristic at the same time, with actual walls and buildings. Several hills surrounded the area, with moss covered boulders dotting them.

"I'm assuming everyone is either dead, captured, or MIA," Katie said, commenting on the disturbing lack of people. Julius nodded.

Katie held back a sigh. She had bitten off an awful lot agreeing to help. The Iuhins really did need a miracle, a legend. They needed the Doctor, not his tag-a-long companion and a damaged Type-40.

_Well, I said I'd give it a shot, so here goes. I do this all the time with the Doctor, I just get to fly solo on this trip. That's it, my first solo mission. Just look at it that way, and do what you usually do._

The truck pulled to a stop outside the largest building, which was still only the size of a small apartment and seemed about half as sturdy. Julius jumped out over the truck side then turned back to Katie as though to help her out. She ignored him and jumped out in the same fashion.

"Park her in an out of the way spot," she called to the driver. "Don't need the Ranngour noticing her if they happen along."

"Mam, if you would follow me."

"Please stop maming me," Katie said as she turned back to Julius. "Makes me feel old."

Julius' mouth twitched at the corner. "Just training mam."

Julius opened the door to the building and Katie stepped inside. Two people, an older man and a younger woman, stood around a large table that took up most of the single room. On it was the typical map with small painted figurines designating who was where. Katie winced.

"Please tell me we aren't the yellow," she whispered to Julius.

"We are," the man said gruffly. "Brigadier, who is this? We sent you out to get bring back a miraculous man and a blue box. Did he change that much, or were you that desperate to prove the stories to be true?"

Katie could tell that the man didn't put much, if any, faith in whatever stories these people had of the Doctor. She couldn't really blame him. War wasn't really the place for legends and fables. Still, Julius had obviously put a lot on the line to implement his plan. She couldn't let him get torn down that way.

"The Doctor's MIA at the moment," she said. "The blue box is being parked right now, if you'd care for a tour once I've patched her up. Rough entry and all."

The man narrowed his eyes. "A female and a Southerner?"

"You have something against females?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow at the man. Katie got the feeling that she was at the top of the command chain, and had to fight to stay there. Katie instantly decided she liked her.

"No, but she's a child," the man said. He lifted his chin at Katie. "What are you, twenty at best? Nothing over nineteen."

"I'm fifteen, but thanks for the compliment," Katie drawled, thickening her accent as much as she could. "But regardless of my age, where you think or don't think I come from, you aren't in any kind of position to be turning down help, whoever may be offering it."

The woman's face showed nothing, but her eyes seemed to regard Katie with an expression almost beginning to hint at respect. Katie knew that she had at least started well with the right person.

"Come in. Tell us more about where you're from." The words were less of a request and more of an order. Katie stepped forward towards the table as the woman looked at Julius. "Brigadier, I'll want your report later. Continue on your duties."

"Mam," he said, giving a smart salute before ducking out the door. Katie had to admire the way the woman had just stripped her of any kind of backup. Now it was just her.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Trouble," Katie said, using the same name as she had used earlier. No need to create discrepancies so soon. "I've traveled with the Doctor for the past ten months. How do I address you?"

"Mam or General will suffice."

Katie shook her head lightly. "I'm not much of one for titles without a name behind it."

"And yet you travel with a man simply known as 'the Doctor'?" the older man asked.

"Not to be rude—thought frankly that's my best talent—it is his name, not just a title. Even if it were just a title, he has a lot backing it."

The woman simply blinked. "General Xaira Strnad," she said, pronouncing her first name 'Zarah' and her second one 'STIR-naad'. She nodded towards the man. "Lieutenant General Glendon Taylor. How did you get here?"

"The Doctor was giving me a history lesson when something hit us while we were still in the vortex. TARDIS was thrown out of the vortex while flipping end over end. The Doctor and I tried to bring her under control, but as we did so he was thrown out over a planet someplace. I managed to finish stabilizing TARDIS and land her. I haven't run a damage check yet. As soon as I stepped out, Brigadier Julius called to me from a hilltop. We chatted, I agreed to pitch in and I was brought back."

"Then you've lost the Doctor. How convenient for Robertson," Glendon said in a biting manner. Katie looked at him coolly.

"Not really very convenient for any of us, Taylor. Julius filled me in on what's going on, and to put it simply you are in over your heads."

Glendon looked like he wanted to say something, but Xaira stopped him.

"Your assessment is correct, Trouble. The only reason we allowed the Brigadier to use what little we have to signal a story is because it's all we have left. Another mind and pair of hands won't do us any harm." She waved a hand at Katie, motioning her to look at the table. Katie hissed through her teeth. It really was a disgusting situation. A few scattered clumps of yellow markers looked lost in the sea of blue ones. A ragged red line on the map marked the boundary between North and South.

"Julius mentioned that you're in this mess because of early raids by ninjas."

"Ninjas?"

Katie waved her hand in frustration at herself. "An ancient type of warrior known for being unseen. Where did these take place?"

"Pick a place on the map," Glendon said, gesturing with his hand. "For the first six months, things ran perfectly compared to now. Then scientists and machinery went missing left and right, some of them right in the middle of a base. No warning, no signs of forced entry, no outright attacks. It just vanished."

"Huh," Katie said quietly. She gently clicked her teeth as she looked harder at the map. The blue was fairly well spread out, but one large building marker sitting almost on the border intrigued her.

"Is that their H.Q.? Seems a little risky to place it so close to you."

"No, their base is farther in," Glendon said, pointing. "That's just their closest stronghold, and there's no way in under any account. Only one gate, two checkpoints to get through it. The walls are fifteen feet high with razor wire at the top, soldiers with laser rifles patrolling at regular intervals."

"So something big must be inside," she mused. "But why so close? Has to be out of necessity. But what's the necessity?" She looked at Xaira. "When did it go up?"

"They set themselves up there soon after they captured the land, about a year into the war."

"Talk about a rush," Katie said. "How close could you get me?"

"We've sent in people who've trained longer than you've been alive," Glendon mocked. "You expect to just saunter in?"

"Of course not," Katie said offhandedly. "I'd need to see whatever you've got on the place first. Every machine, no matter how well kept, always has one gear slightly off. This one is no different."

"You're rather young."

Katie glanced up at Xaira. "I'm also here to help. If you lose me you're no worse off than before. When I get out, you'll have a clearer idea of what's up with that spot. You don't put something so important so close to the enemy, however weak they are."

"We know this, Trouble," Glendon said, his voice clearly stating that he felt her name was appropriate. Xaira gave him a glance.

"What makes you think you could do anything?"

Katie gave her a small smile. "You ever heard of Winston Churchill?"

"The name sounds vaguely familiar."

"He was a brilliant man that lived, oh, nearly 6000 years ago on earth. Led an empire through a World War. He had a lot of great quotes. One of these, and I'm paraphrasing here, was, 'the first thing you need is audacity.' And I am good at audacity."

"You'll go whatever I may say, won't you?"

"Yep."

Xaira smiled. "Then I'll see what I can do to help. I'll have the information brought to your—how did you call it?—TARDIS. Go make whatever repairs you need in the meantime."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

The Doctor contemplated all that Jennifer had told him about the current situation. It made sense, and gave him an even greater reason to find a way out. But what to do?

"Jennifer, what do you remember of the day you were brought in?"

"Not very well. It's been, oh, fifteen years or so? Of course, that's just a guess."

The Doctor wrinkled his forehead. "Fifteen years?"

She shrugged. "I guess so. Feels that long, anyway."

The Doctor gave her a curious look. If she had said that when he first came, he would have believed her. But now that they'd been talking for a bit, she looked younger than he had first averaged. Maybe it was because she seemed to have a light in her eyes again, as if just his presence was making her hopeful. His only hope was that he wouldn't disappoint.

He rubbed his chin, running through his own entrance. He talked to the General, then got his collar, got rushed along, keypad, cell, coat, conversation…

Keypad. What use was a keypad when no one locked the doors?

"Jennifer, you said that these collars were attached to the brain stem…what would the purpose of that be?"

Jennifer thought for a moment before answering. "A check on vital systems. It could be used to register how long we've been in so they know to move us. In Level Five they used it sedate us."

"How do you mean?"

Jennifer smiled. It seemed to be getting easier for her each time. "Level Five is where most people come in, including all the people that have just been fighting. It gets rowdy."

"Could it be used to register if someone passed a certain point?"

"I suppose it could."

The Doctor rose from his spot against the wall and opened the door. "Hold this for me," he said to Jennifer. She grabbed onto the door while he ran his hands along the threshold, searching. He stopped near the top of the door.

"Just as I thought. Look," he said as he pointed. "Sensors."

"What for?"

In response the Doctor pointed down the hall. Nothing had happened to it yet. "Why isn't it moving?" Jennifer asked.

"We haven't gone past the door yet." The Doctor turned to Jennifer. "How strong are you?"

"Depends on what you need me to do."

"Do you think you could pull me back up from an unknown drop?"

Jennifer raised her eyebrows. "After fifteen years of little to no exercise?"

"Right." He looked her up and down for a moment. "Keep that in mind."

"What do you—whoa!"

The Doctor had abruptly seized Jennifer by the wrist and pushed her out the door. Before she had time to comprehend what had happened, she was outside the cell, and the only thing keeping her from falling over the edge of the newest gap in the floor was the Doctor's grip.

"What are you doing?" she yelled at him.

"What can you see?"

"What do you mean, what can I see?"

"Just that," the Doctor said calmly. "Tell me what you see."

"The walls moving, you idiot!"

"Jennifer, they haven't moved."

She froze for a moment. She looked around herself again. The hallway had clearly changed and there were definitely missing stones under her feet. Directly under them in fact… She gasped again as she realized she was standing on thin air.

The Doctor pulled her back in, catching her and releasing her in the same instant.

"Sorry about that, but I had to be sure," the Doctor said, his tone not very apologetic.

"Sure of what?"

"In your professional opinion, our collars could easily be attached to our brainstems, yes?"

"A bit unlikely with the amount of time spent getting them put on, but yeah, they could be."

"Well, sensors in the door frame, you step out and see moving walls while I know that the stones don't move…"

Jennifer nodded, seeing where the Doctor's train of thought was leading. "The collars are set to play with our vision should we try to leave, and the keypad simply lets the door know when we get checked in. Well done."

The Doctor didn't acknowledge the compliment, his mind still occupied with something. "Doesn't help us much though." He ran his hand through his hair, thinking. His eyes landed on his trench coat, which he had left lying in the corner. "Perhaps…"

"Perhaps what?"

The Doctor once again ignored her statement, instead crouching down by the coat. In a slightly hurried fashion, he started going through the pockets. Jennifer knelt in front of him.

"Won't do you any good. If you're lucky enough to receive any personal objects back, they make sure to take everything that could be useful out."

"What looks like junk to some may be a tool to others," The Doctor said as he put his hand in the last available pocket. He pulled something out, and then grinned broadly upon seeing it.

"Jennifer, when we get out of this, remind me to tell a friend of mine she can have free reign over my storage spaces and my closet."

"Why? What did you find?"

The Doctor held out something that looked like an extremely small compact, maybe an inch across.

"Tell me Jennifer Nance; have you ever heard of a CeaXhell?"

* * *

><p>"Hello?"<p>

Julius knocked again on TARDIS's door. "Trouble mam, are you in there?"

There was a small clicking noise, followed by a shout. "Come in and close the door behind you!"

Julius did so. He was so used to simply acting when orders were given that he had firmly shut the door and heard the lock click before he really saw the interior of TARDIS.

"Bigger on the inside, remember to breathe, close your mouth, don't forget to blink at some point."

Once again, Julius simply reacted to these commands, though he still stared. "How?"

"Just chalk it up to magic. Really, it's a lot easier to explain that way."

Julius looked around, this time trying to see Trouble. "Mam?"

"Don't start that mam business again, Julius. Call me Trouble or you'll be in it."

Julius walked up the ramp towards the large cylinder that looked like a control station. Under the floor beneath the control station he could see the bottom half of Trouble. She seemed to be repairing something, though he couldn't make heads or tails of all the wires and cords.

"How go the repairs?"

"Meh, so so. I know a bit, but the Doctor is really the one to do this. It's like the difference between changing the oil in a car and changing the spark plugs."

"Spark plugs?"

"Maintenance for very, very old cars."

"Isn't there a manual you could use for your ship?"

"She's not mine. There used to be a manual, but the Doctor threw it out. He didn't agree with it. Was there anything else?"

Julius crouched down next to the hole. "I brought the files on that building. It's not much."

"I'll take it. Just set it on one of the chairs. I don't need you bumping any controls."

Julius did as he was asked, then returned to where Trouble was. "Will you be finished soon?" he asked.

"I should be."

Julius shifted into a sitting position. He watched Trouble work for a few more seconds. "What's it like, traveling with him?"

"Terrifying," Trouble said bluntly. "Life-threatening. Heartbreaking. Mentally challenging." The sounds of repairs paused, and Julius could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke again. "I wouldn't trade it for anything." The sounds picked up again. "Of course, it isn't all adrenaline. Just this morning the Doctor was giving me a history lesson before we got hit. Still don't know what whacked us."

"A history lesson?" Julius said incredulously. "What sort of history could you learn? You travel through time."

"Which is why I have to take history lessons. How are you supposed to know what's wrong if you don't know anything about it? Besides, this history lesson was a special one. It was about the planet the Doctor was born on. Only place I can't seem to pick up on. Everywhere else sticks instantly, but the Doctor's home has problems sinking in. Just like everything else about him," she added, as though mildly puzzled by the fact.

"Have you ever been there?" Julius asked. "To his home-world."

"Sort of. Not really. Not physically. He described it once, in a way."

"How'd you meet him?"

"An accident. I appeared in TARDIS and never went back home."

"Not even to say goodbye?" Julius asked, shocked.

"I couldn't," Trouble said, her voice thickening. "I would only have put them in danger if I did."

"But you're fifteen! Don't they know where you are?"

"As far as they're concerned, I'm still at home. There was…is, a race of creatures out there. People, I guess. They…they do a lot of stuff with cloning, and I'm one of their many products. The original is back where she should be, and I get to run around the vortex with the Doctor. Fair trade in my mind."

"Do you miss them? Your parents."

The repairs paused again. "Yeah. Yeah I do. I miss them a lot." The sounds started up again with extra vigor.

"What were they like?"

"Well, my mother was a pretty woman. A little on the forgetful side, and she could get impatient, especially in the early mornings when I had to be at school and she had to get to work, but she was a very wise woman. Very supportive. My dad was kind of short, had a beard and glasses, but he was such a brain. Oh, was he smart! Good streak of humor too. We had this thing, sort of an unspoken ritual almost, when we were teasing each other. We'd be picking on each other for something, and then we'd reach a point where we'd stop for whatever reason. And then he'd usually call me Daughter, rather than Gi—Trouble. I'd return it by calling him Father. Not sure why we did it, but it always made me feel…like I was supposed to be there. Loved, I guess."

"Any siblings?"

"One, an older brother. I think I miss him the most actually. I could always talk to him about nearly everything, and he had a grand smile that showed all his teeth, and he was so creative. Such an imagination. We'd sit and share story ideas, creating worlds in our spare time. He wanted to be an archeologist. Knowing him, he made it too. Why are you asking all this?"

Julius shrugged, knowing Trouble couldn't see it. "Suppose you could call it research, what makes a Companion and all that. If you know what sort of person the Doctor travels with, you can learn about him."

"What about your stories?

"You can know all about what someone did by reading stories, and can speculate about their lives, but you can never really know."

"Are you planning to write this up?"

"If we win, it'll be part of our history. When we lose, it will be something for scientists to dig up years from now."

"You won't lose if I have anything to do with it. Tell me something Julius," Trouble said, changing the subject slightly. "What are the stories the Doctor has managed to stir up around here?"

"They didn't originate here," Julius said, his voice picking up an excited quality, as of a person speaking on their favorite subject. "They come from all over, bits and pieces that all the different species have brought with them from their worlds of origin. Marvelous tales, adventures and things. Enough to get the imagination running."

Katie sat up part way and pointed to a tool box. "Hand me the laser welder. Looks like a pointer with a green button on the side." Julius did this and Katie lay back down. "Anything stand out in those pieces?" she asked.

"The consistency of what he does. He always seems to show up precisely when needed, when things are at their worst, and then disappears once it's over. A few stories speak of the women he travels with and his changing faces."

"Do they say anything about TARDIS?"

"Only that it's a blue box full of wonder and mysteries, and only the privileged few gain access."

"What do they call her?"

Julius thought for a moment. "Most of them simply refer to it as 'the blue box.'"

Trouble sat up again. She looked oddly at Julius, as though she couldn't decide something. Suddenly, a small sound that was a cross between a ring and a chirp filled the room. Trouble glanced to either side curiously. "Is that yours?" she asked. Julius shook his head.

"TARDIS phone doesn't ring like that." Trouble pulled herself out of the wiring and started walking around the console room listening carefully. Julius looked on. "It reminds me of something. Like a…a… But no one…" Trouble's eyes widened. She quickly pulled her bag out from under the console. She rummaged through it and pulled out a dark red LG flip phone. She flicked it open with her thumb and held it to her ear.

"Doctor?"

Julius hurriedly got to his feet. "Is it him?"

Trouble held up a finger, silencing him. "Say again?" she said into the phone. "One more time, you are not coming in… Hang on and try to keep the connection open."

Trouble scurried to the other side of the console. Still holding the phone she flipped a couple of levers and typed something into the screen before started to turn a handle. She whirled on Julius and pointed at him. "You! Make yourself useful and keep this going." Julius quickly did so as Trouble plugged the phone into a wire on the other side of the console.

"Are you still there?"

"Yes," a cheery male voice said through the loudspeakers. There was still an undercurrent of static, but the voice still came through fairly clear. "Good to hear you again. Are you with the TARDIS?"

"Is that him?" Julius asked breathlessly. "Is that the Doctor?"

"I'm in her now," Trouble said, ignoring Julius except for a dark look. "She's a bit battered. When I get to you again you'll have to finish the repairs but she'll hold for the moment. Where and when are you?"

"When is a bit difficult to establish. Calendars don't really exist down here. But the planet's called…" There was a moment of silence. When the Doctor spoke again, it sounded like he was talking to someone near him. "Where are we again?"

"Beriin," a female voice said, also faint.

"We're on Beriin," the Doctor said. His voice was almost swallowed by the rising noise of static.

"Sing the Hallelujah Chorus," Trouble said. "Do you have a space race going on where you're at?"

"I do," the Doctor said, sounding slightly surprised. "Iuhins and the Ranngour?"

Trouble beamed broadly. "Oh Doctor, we have got to go meet Lady Luck sometime. Is she real?"

"What?" the Doctor called. Julius almost couldn't hear him through all the interference.

"Is Lady Luck a real person?" she nearly shouted.

"No! Yes! I'm not sure. Why is that important?"

"I'm up with what's left of the Iuhin army," Trouble said, pulling a few more levers and starting to pump at something. "Julius," she said, looking up at him, "push the yellow button. Not the one next to the meter, but the other one by the dial. Can you say exactly where on the planet you are?" she finished, raising her voice.

"I'm in—"

A sharp burst of static cut off his words. Trouble pulled a wrench out of her back pocket and struck the console sharply.

"Say that again!"

"I'm….Labyri…Three!"

"Three what?"

"….ee! Lev…"

There was a sharp click as the connection was lost.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Katie slammed her hand down hard on the console in frustration. "Damn it!" A second later she sighed and rubbed the spot she had hit. "It's okay girl. Did your best. A lot of interference though." Katie clicked her teeth, thinking. Julius stared at her, eyes wide. Katie glanced at him. Mentally, she reassessed his age, now placing him in his early twenties. He looked like a boy who's convinced he had found proof that Santa Claus was real.

"What?" she asked, a little short tempered.

"Was that really him? He's on Beriin now?"

"Yes it was him, but I don't know if he's on Beriin."

"But he—"

"Was probably calling from a CeaXhell I stitched inside the lining of his coat sleeve. I rigged it so that it could send and receive calls across space _and_ time. He may be on Beriin, but it could be ten years from now. Still, good to know he's safe. But why the static?"

Julius stayed silent, obviously lost on the answer. Katie started pacing, rubbing her thumb against the fingers on her right hand as her teeth gently clicked. "Right near the end, he was trying to say where exactly he was," she mused, thinking aloud. "What was it?"

"It sounded like he was trying to say 'Level Three," Julius hesitantly put in. Katie pointed at him in affirmation without looking at him.

"Level Three of where though? A building maybe? Some kind of skyscraper? No, he said calendars didn't exist 'down here.' And why would he need to use the CeaXhell? It's been in his jacket for a month now, so why would he find it suddenly?"

"If you hid it in his coat lining, then he may have found it while searching for a tool of some sort," Julius said.

"No, the only thing he ever uses is the sonic, never goes looking through the coat." Katie paused in her pacing, standing frozen. "Unless he didn't have his sonic, in which case it was probably taken from him. And if was taken but he has time to make a call, he's locked off someplace. Bother." Katie peered at Julius. "And then that other word. Labyri. Sounds like the start of 'labyrinth.' Does that mean anything around here?"

Julius shrugged his shoulders. "Only if you believe the stories."

"More legends?"

"Yes. The Labyrinth was supposed to be a huge maze under the entire surface of Beriin, meant to be used in times of war for the planet's inhabitants to hide in and stay safe and unseen. It's even older than the stories of the Doctor. However, unlike his stories, no one has found any kind of evidence the Labyrinth existed."

"Huh. It would be a massive undertaking. Then again, so were the catacombs. And those were hidden pretty well."

"Catacombs?"

"Ancient history." Katie stayed still for another few seconds, staring hard at Julius. Then she seemed to snap back from somewhere. "Well then, I'd better get started reading those files. I've got a lot to do before tonight."

Julius now stared at her in disbelief. "You're dropping it just like that?"

"Yep," Katie said casually, starting to flip through the most recent schedules of guard change for the large Ranngour building.

"But shouldn't we do something?"

"Nope."

"But it's the Doctor!"

"Yep."

"But can't you trace it or find him or something? We need him here! And he's on Beriin! What if the Ranngour have him?"

Katie held up a map of the outside of the Ranngour building. "Then they'll be experiencing more than a few problems in dealing with him."

"They might be using him!"

"Don't make me laugh. That nutcase wouldn't help anyone with weapons, be it construction or acquirement, and even if he was forced into it somehow did he'd have a way out of it. Lunatic he may be, but the Doctor is the most resourceful man I know. He'll do alright."

Julius was silent. "I thought you said he was your best friend."

Katie froze, then lowered the file folder, letting her half-closed eyes drill into Julius's. Her Texan accent thickened almost to the point of being impossible to understand. "I'll be gracious and forget you ever said that if you walk out right now."

"But—"

"You have four seconds and counting."

Julius stared back at Katie, wasting one of his seconds. Then he broke and retreated. Katie didn't take her eyes off the door until it locked shut again.

* * *

><p>Down in the Labyrinth, the Doctor had taken the back off of the CeaXhell and was busy inspecting it. Jennifer was watching him, but the look in her face had changed slightly. Not that the Doctor ever noticed such looks.<p>

"Who was that on the other end?"

"Her names' Kathryn. Friend of mine. A bit young, rather American at times, but useful to have around."

Jennifer seemed appeased, for the moment. "What are you looking for?"

"Whatever's wrong with this thing."

"Made the call, didn't it?"

"Yes, but Kathryn's smarter than that. If she left this in my coat, then she'd have wired it up to send the signal through time and space without a single problem, but there was all that static. And then it cut off. No, there must be something wrong with this. I just need to find it."

"Could it just be because of the stone?"

"No, the signal would have gone straight through the vortex," the Doctor said, talking more to himself than to Jennifer. "The stone wouldn't have made a difference." The Doctor frowned and looked up. "When do they do the meal rounds here?"

"Meals? We might have a shot at actually getting out of here and you're worried about food?"

"Maybe it is something to worry over. They have to feed everyone at some point, and I know I've been down here more than twelve hours." He looked abruptly at Jennifer. "How do you keep track of the days?"

Jennifer opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. "I don't know. You just do. Sort of a guessing game mostly."

"You said you've been here for fifteen years. How do you know?"

Jennifer shrugged lightly. "I guess I don't."

"Has anything stood out over that time?"

"What do you mean?"

The Doctor was looking at her intently, his eyes open wide. "In all that time, have you ever felt thirsty? Hungry? Tired? Old? Young? Bored? Anything?"

Jennifer seemed speechless at the bombardment of questions. "I don't know. You just wait. That's all. Nothing ever happens. You just sit until someone comes to get you. That's all. Nothing else."

The Doctor stared at Jennifer for a few seconds, seeming to look through her eyes into her mind. "Jennifer, how old are you?"

"Well, I was brought in when I was twenty-two, and it's been fifteen years, so I'm thirty seven."

"Are you very, very sure?"

"Of course I am! I should be able to figure out my own age." Even as she spoke, she wasn't certain, and it showed in her voice.

"Precisely. You should, but I don't think you can." The Doctor looked away from her, his expression torn between self-disgust and grudging respect. "Oh, I should have seen this. Well, felt it. Sensed it at least. Well, if the Labyrinth is stretched over a planet then the loop would be subtle."  
>"What loop?"<p>

The Doctor looked back at her. "Jennifer, you haven't been down here for fifteen years. Or is you have then it's only been passing outside of the maze. The Labyrinth, the whole thing, is being run through a time loop. Probably just a single second; you'd need a lot of power to make it any larger. But it's the same second repeating over and over and over again. That's why the CeaXhell wouldn't connect; it was sending the same signal from the same second each time. It could be years before they find this place."

"In other words, we're still stuck."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Katie looked up at the pounding on the door. She pulled down the view screen and saw that it was Xaira and Glendon. She sighed, but she couldn't avoid it. After all, she was on their turf, and she had promised them a tour. Well, she wouldn't give them a real tour. The console room and a couple of vague gestures at the halls would be sufficient.<p>

Katie walked down the ramp to the door and unlocked it. "Bitte kommen Sie herein," she said, her Texan accent muddying the German words. Didn't matter, TARDIS would end up translating it anyway. Xaira and Glendon stepped in, making the traditional stunned pause a few steps in as Katie closed the door. She smiled privately at the amazement. She could remember her first time finding out about the astounding difference between the interior and exterior of TARDIS. She wondered momentarily if that wasn't why the Doctor took people with him.

"It's smaller on the outside," Xaira said, shocked. Katie raised her eyebrows.

"Never heard it said that way before. Same meaning though." She leapt up the ramp and gave a twirl, her arms spread wide.

"Welcome to TARDIS Type-40, the last of her kind and the personal home, office, and preferred transportation of the legendary Doctor, Time Lord extraordinaire. Kitchen's that way, restrooms are there and there, and if you keep walking in that direction you get everywhere else, including but not limited to the video arcade, the library, the sauna, the wardrobe, the art gallery, the music hall, the ballroom, and I think we even have a planet somewhere in there." She clapped her hands together. "So, how am I getting to that building?"

"How is this possible?" Glendon asked. Katie smiled lightly.

"It just is, Taylor. Now, how close can you get me by tonight?"

Xaira walked up the ramp to join Katie, still a bit overwhelmed, but in control of herself. "We have trucks going past at irregular intervals. You can get into one of those. There's a turn and a patch of trees about half a mile from the Ranngour building. You can jump out as the truck drives past."

"Sounds good. How soon do I leave?"

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Glendon asked. "It's one thing for a soldier to try something like this; you're still a child, and I'm not putting your death on our fighters."

"I've done things like this before," Katie said, lying between her teeth. "It's not a big problem. Life's not complete without a daily risk of some kind. When am I leaving?"

"You're both leaving in little less than an hour," Xaira said. She held up a hand to stop Katie's protest. "I understand that you are likely used to working alone, or solely with your Doctor, but you are still a child and under my charge. I cannot let you go in without backup."

Katie sighed. "Fine. Who's the unlucky soldier?"

"Brigadier Robertson has volunteered."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Too bad," Glendon said. "You either go with him or we'll take your ship and find another way through the Ranngour."

"You make another threat like that and you'll find yourself short the only hope you have of winning," Katie said, her voice low.

Xaira stepped between them, stopping the looming fight. "Trouble, whatever quarrel you may have with Brigadier Robertson will have to be put aside. This is too chancy a thing for you to go alone or for anyone to be pressed into it. He's the only one that volunteered and frankly he's the best choice for the job. Glendon, Trouble has freely offered her assistance, and this ship is to be left untouched. I want a guard put on it effective immediately." Xaira turned back to Katie. "You have less than an hour to finish your preparations. We will supply you with a weapon and communication device."

"Weapon yes, communicator no. I have my own set of things that will work better than anything you've got. See you in forty."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Fifty minutes later, Katie was once again sitting in the back of a truck with Julius. There weren't any other soldiers in this particular vehicle, save the two in the cab. She pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it to him.

"Take this," she said tersely. "It'll help keep you out of sight."

Julius held it up. "A necklace?"

"I could have used earrings, but I hate it when guys wear them."

"It's a necklace."

Katie sighed and pulled a similar necklace from her pocket. She held it up before putting it on.

Instantly, Julius felt his eyes sliding away from her. He blinked, trying to focus. "What is that?"

Katie took the necklace off and his eyes focused. "Perception filter. You put that necklace on, and as long as you don't try to draw attention to yourself, you'll be fine. Just remember, no running, no noise, and if you have to talk make sure you whisper. Don't get all fidgety when you go past an enemy. This is a straight up re-con, no more. Once we get close to the building, I want you to turn that communicator I gave you completely off. Any signal it sends or receives should be undetectable, but I'm not taking chances."

"Who placed you at the head of this?"

"I did," Katie said bluntly. "I'd be saying the exact same stuff if it was Xaira Strnad herself coming with me. One last thing though: if I tell you to do something, you do it. I didn't want you here in the first place, but I'll have to make the best of it."

"Look, if this is about that comment I made—"

"To put it bluntly you make me nervous."

"What have I done?"

"I'm not sure yet. I just get the feeling that you've got something against me and you'd like nothing better than to put a bullet in my back."

"Now see here! I haven't done anything to you, and you're practically accusing me of being a spy or something!"

"Maybe you are. I don't know. But I know that you don't want me here on this planet."

There was a sharp tap on the metal between the cab and the back of the truck. Katie gave Julius a last glance and without waiting for him she put on her perception filter and slipped over the side of the truck. Julius followed behind.

A short run—at least for Katie—and they were down in a small ditch, watching the front door. Trucks were going in and out, as were soldiers. They had to stop at both checkpoints, each one taking a few minutes to pass. Katie watched the comings and goings keenly.

"The light's gonna swing away, and then we're going to walk in behind that truck."

"Just walk in?" Julius said incredulously. Katie gave him a look.

"Yes."

"I hope you don't mind the bad pun, but are you asking for trouble?"

"You've got your filter on, you'll be fine."

"All well and good that it'll be a little harder to shoot you with their eyes slipping all over the place, but do you see how many people are in there? We'll be noticed instantly."

"Just keep walking and don't draw attention to yourself," Katie said flippantly, brushing aside Julius's protests. "Stick close by me. Make sure the communicator has been turned off. And whatever you do, don't wander off."

The light swung away and Katie hopped lightly from the ditch and started to walk quickly and quietly down the road. Julius came up beside her. He gave her a glance, but said nothing as they approached the front gate. He started when a harsh voice barked out something. The language wasn't one he understood, but he thought the message was clear. Katie just kept walking, staying by the truck. She cocked her head, listening to the words, frowning.

"What—"

Katie held up a finger, silencing Julius, though the scorching look she gave him would have done that. The truck moved forward and Katie and Julius trailed behind. It stopped again, and then moved again after a few minutes. Katie instantly headed for the open front door of the main building, ignoring the one to the side. Some kind of construction was being done on the roof, which explained why there was so much going on.

The main building's interior was plain concrete with plain wooden doors placed along the way every so often. Though the outside was busy, inside it was almost empty. Katie clicked her teeth and glanced down two hallways before choosing the one to the right and walking down it as though she knew the place by heart. She pointed at each door as she passed it as though noting the signs before ducking inside one of them, Julius right on her tail.

The room was empty save for a single desk with a computer on it.

"Keep your ear pressed to the door. If you hear so much as a mouse's squeak, you let me know," Katie said as she sat down behind the desk.

"We just walked past all those people. And nobody even noticed!"

"Yep. Trick of the trade." Katie cracked her fingers and started typing at the computer.

"What are you looking for?"

"Haven't a clue. Just like I don't really know where this is. Did you understand the guard outside?"

"No. The planet has a common language, but the North and South have two separate languages. I don't know most of the Southern."

"Hmm," Katie mused, her fingers still flying. "Odd. Oh well, it'll come through eventually…whoa hoh oh!" Katie smiled. "This looks interesting." She clicked on something and her eyes widened. "Well. That's…unexpected."

"What did you find?" Julius asked from his post by the door.

"Your Labyrinth…how big did you say it was?"

"It was supposed to go down for several levels, stretched under the entire surface of Beriin. Why? It's a story."

"So is the Doctor," Katie said. She turned the screen towards Julius. On it was a large, 3-D side view of a multi-level maze.

"Shake a leg Soldier Boy. This legend just woke up."

Katie turned the screen back towards herself. "Why would they have it on file though? Did they build it? Find it?"

"They would have found it," Julius said, fitting the pieces together. "Six months into the war, they found it here. This building must mark the main entrance. From there it was a job of mapping and using it to take everything we had."

"Well done, Soldier Boy. But what are those?"

Julius walked behind the desk and leaned over her shoulder. She pointed to what looked like several large rooms. There were about ten to a level, at least of the section that they could see.

"They look like cells. See those?" he said, pointing at the rooms. "I'd bet that each of those lights is a person."

"Lot of prisoners to watch over. Feeding alone would cost an enormous amount, not to mention the normal riots you would expect, and the cleaning. So how would they be controlling them?"

"With that thing maybe," Julius said, using the mouse to show her. He clicked on a large red square set between Levels Four and Three. The image zoomed in. "Looks like some kind of generator."

"What would it be generating? It looks like…no. Is the whole place automatic or something?"

"Could be. It would also explain why we've never been able to figure out where they've been holding everyone."

Katie took the mouse back. "The file you people gave me said some lo-lo by the name of Lathezia runs the joint. He got a reputation for anything?"

"Not in particular. A little vicious, but not much else."

"Huh." Katie clicked her teeth together. "When the Doctor called, right after he mentioned the Labyrinth, he said he was on Level Three." She shrank the window and started searching through other files until she found a ridiculously long list, arranged in alphabetical order by last name. Or so Julius assumed; after all, he couldn't read it. Katie, however, seemed to be able to.

"Now, if my luck's still holding true…" Katie said as she typed a name into a search box. "Then…"

A file flashed up and the screen. Katie clapped her hands together once and pumped her fists. "I am telling you Julius; Lady Luck is real and today she is just smiling down on me."

"Why?"

Katie pointed at the file being displayed. "Take a good long look, Brigadier Julius Robertson, because that is the Doctor."

Julius looked quizzically at the picture. "That's him?"

"Yep. Pin-stripes and everything." She glanced at Julius. "You were expecting someone else?"

"I wasn't sure what to expect. Something grander, I suppose. He just looks so…normal. Like anyone else you would pass on the street."

"So is the rest of humanity, but everyone has their own peculiar twist that makes them magnificent." Katie pulled a flat square from her pocket and put it on the side of the computer. Files and maps instantly started downloading themselves into it.

"These need to get back to your base. If you can use a door near you and mount a rescue, pull some of your people out, then your numbers shoot up and the backdoor the Ranngour have no longer works so well." Katie pulled the square off the computer. "Once again, follow me and keep your mouth shut."

After an initial listen at the door, Katie and Julius slipped out of the room. Instead of heading back for the front, Katie went further down the hallway they were in. Julius obediently trailed behind, even as she went deeper and deeper into the building. She went down a flight of stairs and came to an old service elevator. Julius gave her a curious look as she opened the door to it. She turned to him and handed him the square.

"I hope you know your way back. If not, find a soldier and follow them around until they leave. Don't hang around any longer than you have to."

"Where are you going?"

"The Labyrinth," she said, stepping into the elevator.

"I thought this was solely a reconnaissance mission."

"For you, yes. I'm going to spring the Doctor."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"No you ain't, Soldier Boy! You are going to get those back to Xaira and are going to start planning your attack on this place. I'll be expecting a fully mounted rescue by morning." She smiled at him and gave a wink. "Don't go worrying about me; trust me, I've got a lot more than a gun to keep me safe."

Julius stared at her for another moment, then did the last thing Katie had expected. Without any sort of warning, Julius stepped forward and kissed her. Her eyes widened and she froze, having absolutely no idea of how to respond. There was a spark and she wondered if it was her hormones, mutual attraction, or if she was draining Julius of energy. None of those options appealed to her.

As suddenly as he had started, Julius broke the kiss and went quickly back the way they had come down. Katie stared after him quizzically for a few seconds.

"Not quite how I expected my first kiss to be," she mused out loud. She turned to the side and pressed the button to start the elevator. As it began moving, she emptied her gun and stuffed the bullets in her pocket, leaving the body of the gun on the floor. She cracked her knuckles, smiling wickedly.

"Oh, is this gonna be fun."

* * *

><p>Julius got out fifteen minutes later. He had made a few wrong turns, but otherwise there had been no mishaps. As soon as he was far enough away, he pulled out a communicator, but it wasn't the one he would use to signal the Iuhins.<p>

"This is Karzom Kilno, Agent Class Four calling in from post 425, planet Beriin, year 7632. I'm calling regarding the Scorch Project." He waited a few moments before speaking again.

"Yes sir, I realize this is unusual, but I'm certain I've found her. Everything checks out; red-hair, white skin, young, smart, attractive, American Earth accent and background. She has an absurdly quick grasp of language…The absorption? I can personally testify that she has it. Energy transfer does occur upon skin to skin contact…Frankly sir, that wouldn't be wise. She's traveled with the Doctor for far too long at this point; if we simply took her he'd come right after us and there would be bloodshed…No, I don't think any amount of persuasion would work on him, particularly if our intelligence on her DNA is true…Sir, he's already taught her how to fly the TARDIS and about Gallifrey. They're that close. I would recommend that we attach a tracker to the TARDIS, possibly even her, and keep a close eye on where they go. It's the most we can do right now…Understood sir. I'll see to it."

He closed his communicator and looked back at the building and sighed.

"Doctor, you really don't know what you've found in that creature. It would have been so much easier to take her early on, but we're the Krize; non-interference is our identity, even when applied to the Rahki, even when it comes to you. You've walked in much too far with that thing to get any help from us."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

The elevator stopped after five minutes and Katie slid out, ducking into a nearby corner. Perception filter or not, someone would notice the elevator and try to discover who was in it. Sure enough, a man came out of a nearby booth.

"Hello? Someone there?" He gave a sigh when no one answered. "Another faulty wire probably. Better give maintenance a ring."

Katie quickly moved behind the man when his back was turned. She wrapped one hand around his mouth, ignoring the teeth biting into her finger. The other arm went around his throat, applying a slight pressure to his windpipe. She counted to five before laying the man down, knowing that he would be in a coma for a few hours, if he ever came out of it. She thought about a mercy killing, then felt revulsion at herself for even considering it. Close on the heels of that self-disgust came self-fear at how easy it had been for her to—yes, admittedly—kill someone else, someone she didn't even know. She spotted a ring on his left hand. She wondered if he had children.

Katie used a computer in the booth to look up the specific directions to Level Three, Cell 24.

* * *

><p>Down in Cell 24, the Doctor was sitting next to Jennifer Nance, his mind still turning. He was positive that he had missed something. Time was moving at a slow rate which made him think that they were in a temporal pocket, but time kept hiccupping, speeding up at irregular intervals, which made him think of a time loop. A very strange one, but still a time loop. No, a time loop couldn't account for everything. And it would take an immense amount of power to spread it over the planet, even one that only lasted a second. It would make a lot more sense to have a temporal pocket to slow time down. But why the bumps?<p>

"Jennifer, if you had a multi-level stone maze that spread under the surface of an entire planet, what would you do with it?"

"Travel," she said instantly. "I'd go all over the planet, and I'd never have to worry about expenses."

"But what if the time in your maze was slower than the rest of the planet?"

Jennifer wasn't sure where the Doctor was leading this train of thought, but she played along. "Could I control the time in my maze?"

"Let's say no."

"Then I'd just have to run, or leave very early."

"And if you could control the time?"

"I'd set it to normal every time I went through it. Simple as that."

The Doctor set his head against the stone. "Simple as that. Oh, I'm getting slow in my old age."

"Old age?" Jennifer said with a teasing smile. "Come on, you can't be that far over thirty."

The Doctor gave her a slightly humorous look and was about to answer when a voice drifted in from outside the cell, sounding as though it was originating from the hallway. The Doctor smiled as it drew closer.

"You know, I just don't get it. You've all these great names. The Final Vigilante of the Vortex, the Lonely Angel, the Supreme Controller, the Traveler from Beyond Time, the Rescuer of Civilizations, Time's Champion, the Man with the Blue Box, the Sainted Physician, the Bringer of Darkness, the Oncoming Storm, the Evergreen Man, the Sole Survivor of the Last Great Time War, and so many other marvelous titles at your disposal."

The Doctor sprang up from his spot on the floor and pulled the door open. A red haired girl stood in the doorway, shaking her head. "And you still use John Smith."

Katie grinned at him and gave him a hug, which he returned. She pulled back a second later.

"Okay, there should be reinforcements on the way, but we need to clear the road for them. If they don't show, then at least we can get all these people out. There's—" She stopped abruptly and tapped his collar. "Where'd you get the necklace?"

"Oh, they use it to keep track of us."

"Not very becoming. Does it come off?"

"Not easily." Katie looked around the Doctor to see who had spoken. The tall brown haired woman seemed vaguely insulted by something, but for the life of her Katie couldn't figure out what. "It's attached to our brain stem."

"Purpose?"

"To keep us in confined. The door may be left unlocked, but we start seeing things as soon as we step out of the door. It looks as though the hallway is changing. Makes escape just a bit difficult."

Katie tilted her head. "I like you. What's your name?"

"Doctor Jennifer Nance."

"Lovely. Another one. Good to meet you anyway. I'm Kathryn. Who are all the coma patients?"

"Kathryn, they've been trapped down here for a very long time," the Doctor said in gentle reproof. She had the decency to look ashamed.

"Get locked up for too long and the spark goes." She looked back over to Jennifer. "Good thing you don't seem to have been down here that long, though with your collar keeping you in here you both might still go down that road. And I was going to use his Time Lord brain too."

"With…"

"They've got a generator in-between this level and the next. I think—"

"It creates a temporal pocket," the Doctor interrupted, seeming a little put out that he was being mostly ignored. "Slows down time to the point where it almost doesn't move. They can turn it on and off at will, allowing themselves to travel through."

Katie gave the Doctor a mock glare. "Show off. Must have been doing a real number on your system though. Still, I need to find a way to get that collar off of you. Won't do a lot of good if you're running into walls on the way to the stairs."

"It's attached to the brain stem," Jennifer said. "You'd need a complicated surgery to get it out."

"Did it take a surgery to put it on?"

"No."

"Then it won't need one to take it off."

Jennifer nodded. "Possibly. We can't know for sure."

Katie clicked her teeth, then suddenly noticed the keypad next to the door. "Why have a keypad if the door is left unlocked?"

"It activates the collars," Jennifer said. Katie gave the Doctor a disgusted look and flicked his forehead. He frowned at her and rubbed the spot.

"And you didn't think to mention it," Katie said. "Aren't you the brilliant man." She held out her hand. "Sonic?"

"I…don't have it anymore."

"Where is it?"

"Lathezia took it."

"Maybe you should stich an extra one in the lining of your coat with the CeaXhell I left you."

"It wasn't in the lining," the Doctor said, mildly surprised. "You left it in the pocket."

"No I didn't. I stuck it into the lining. I knew that if I put it in your pocket you'd toss it out."

"I found it in the pocket."

"Well that's disconcerting."

"So are a lot of other things around here."

"You too?"

Katie and the Doctor stared at each other for a few moments. Jennifer could almost see the words flying between their eyes.

"Right," Katie said, breaking the silence. "I'll do this the hard way." Katie turned her attention to the keypad. After pushing few buttons, she seemed to go into a staring contest with the screen. She blinked, shrugged, and punched the keypad. Electricity lanced up her arm for a moment at the same time that sparks showered down from the sensors on the doorframe. Katie danced backwards in the hallway, shaking her hand.

"Ahh, hand asleep, hand asleep!"

"What did you do that for?" the Doctor said, stepping out into the hallway, barely noticing the fact the walls stayed put. "You could have just broken in."

"I did, smart one. I just felt more like breaking it. Worked, didn't it?"

Jennifer stepped cautiously from the room. "I would have to agree. Nothing's moving." She bent her head sharply forward and hissed in pain. The Doctor did the same. Katie was at the Doctor's side in an instant. Before she could ask what was wrong, she noticed the two identical spots of blood at the back of his neck.

"You are bleeding. Yeah, back of the neck is bleeding. Right, take a deep breath, this might constrict the windpipe. I'll be as quick as I can." The Doctor did as instructed and Katie pinched the collar on either side of the rectangle, which was no longer lit. She closed her eyes to focus and waited for few seconds before the metal cracked. She pulled the rectangle off of his neck. Two sharp metal needles connected to the rectangle slid out of his skin. She let it drop to the floor and moved over to Jennifer, repeating the operation.

"Who needs a sonic when you've got me?" Katie said smugly. The Doctor was standing again and gently touching the back of his neck.

"Jennifer, as a doctor, what do you think that was?"

"The non-complicated way of removing the collars. They must have shut down with the sensors."

"In which case we should probably get moving," Katie said. "If they do a regular life support check, then they're going to notice when their head count starts dropping, and a cell with no people is going to show up real fast."

"Right," the Doctor said. "Lead the way then, Kathryn Moore. We can compare anomalies on the way."

* * *

><p>"General, that man you wanted us to watch. His signal just went dead."<p>

Lathezia gave a small smile, though the man in front of his desk didn't know why. "Well done Doctor," he said quietly. "You brought it right to us."

"Sir?"

"I want a transmat beam locked onto the temporal generator room, and I need an instant recall button. I'll be going alone."

"Is that wise sir?"

"Are you questioning me?"

"No sir, it's just…against protocol."

"I am protocol."

"Yes sir."

* * *

><p>The truck window rolled down as it pulled up next to Julius. "Brigadier?" said the driver incredulously. "Where have you been? You missed check in by an hour! We thought you'd been caught."<p>

"Not quite," Julius said with a small smile. He pulled the black square from his pocket and gave it to the driver. "Take this to General Xaira. Tell her that everything on it is the absolute truth and that she needs to get someone down there as fast as she can, preferably to the generator. Tell her to bring whatever explosives we've got." Julius reached into his pocket again and pulled out a small half-sphere half an inch in diameter. "Take this as well. Trouble told me to attach it to the blue box, said it would give her access to the files in it or something. She stressed that it had to be done as soon as possible."

The solider took it quizzically.

"Where are you going sir?"

"Back. I have to divert a disaster."

"For who sir?"

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

"So what's weird in your world, Doctor?" Katie asked as they hurried along the hallways.

"First off would be why the TARDIS—"

"She's not a thing," Katie interrupted. "Try again."

The Doctor sighed. "We're really going to do this now?"

"Yes."

"Did TARDIS give any hint of what knocked _her_ from the vortex?"

"Better," Katie said. "When I went through that automatic log she keeps, it seemed as though there was an explosion in the vortex itself, like two parallel time lines were being created in a particularly violent way."

"Is that even possible?" Jennifer asked. "I mean, you make it sound as though the vortex is a set thing, like history."

"History is always the present when you're there," the Doctor said. "And you can always change the present. But the vortex is something else. It takes an awful lot of power to even go through it, and to shake it is massive. What sort of split can you get from that?"

"Something that completely changes the universe, I guess," Katie said. "Something that's probably going to happen really soon, likely close to here."

"Maybe not," the Doctor said. "Time and space don't apply in the vortex. A century means about as much as a minute, and a light-year matches up pretty well with a mile."

"Explains why you have trouble flying," Katie said. Without waiting for the Doctor's comeback, she moved on to the next topic. "So, Weird Event Number Two: I land, mostly successfully, a little ways up North. I walk out of a smoking TARDIS and immediately—_immediately_ after I do so, a guy starts yelling at me from up top a hill. He comes dashing down to where I am and asks me if I'm you. I decided not to be insulted, but then I start asking myself questions when he calls TARDIS by her real name."

"What?"

"Yah. Not 'Blue Box,' or 'Space-ship,' but TARDIS. Later I find out he's the resident know-it-all on the legends about the Doctor and his flying ship, but not a single legend ever calls TARDIS 'TARDIS.' So, he's either traveled with you or he knows a lot more than he's saying. To make it worse, he's a soldier in the Iuhin army, and they've been trying to call you for a while to get help."

"You're the Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced back at Jennifer. "Yes. I said that when we met."

"No but…you're_ the_ Doctor. We've got stories about you from all over the place! I didn't think you were real."

"Good. Keep it that way." He turned back to Katie. "Anything else?"

"Yah. Do you remember when we bumped into Ace, way back on Genora?"

The Doctor smiled. "Very well."

Katie smiled back, but her eyes were serious. "Do you remember the way I almost lost my lunch when I saw the mining robots? You know, the Krize ones that were pulling the explosive mineral from the dirt."

At the Doctor's nod, Katie continued. "Well, the soldier I met gives me the same feeling, and I think it's mutual."

They turned one last corner and came to a door. "Okay, from what I read on the layout, this one should take us to the generator." Katie frowned as she examined the door. There was no evidence of a handle. "Except that it seems to be bolted from the inside or only open able with a computer that does not seem to be here. That's inconvenient. It means we have to do it the old fashioned way." She glanced up at the Doctor. "How strong are you feeling?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, you never feel strong, twig-man."

"Can't you melt it or something?"

"Have you checked a thermometer recently?" Katie asked incredulously. "It's not that warm down here. Besides, it would take way to long."

"Would this do any good?"

Katie and the Doctor looked to where Jennifer was standing. She held up a tool box. "I found it down the hall."

Katie looked up at the Doctor. "With respect Doctor, I'm trading you out."

"I was about to say the same to you."

Using the contents of the box, Katie and the Doctor forced the door, which had been magnetically sealed. As they started down the now revealed stairs, Katie spoke up. "Your turn Doctor. What odd events have been going on in your life?"

"Lathezia knew who I was, for starters."

"What?" Katie asked, surprised.

"Yep. Got me special treatment actually. I was placed on Level Three rather than on Level Five where all the other prisoners start out. And I got my coat back."

"But not the suit jacket."

"Nope."

"You'd think they'd give back that instead," Katie mused. "And why give you back your coat anyway? It's not exactly cold down here."

"I think Lathezia wanted me to have the CeaXhell," the Doctor said. "It was the only thing left in the coat."

"Why would he want you to call anyone?"

"I don't know. We'd have to ask."

The three explorers came to a second door. This one was easier to open, with a simple, unlocked knob. The door opened to reveal a large room, obviously mechanical, obviously running, but there was almost no noise. Directly in front of them was an oddly shaped device that looked like it was actually two machines sitting side by side. They were nearly identical, with small glass windows that let out blue light. The Doctor walked up to both of them, looking simultaneously amazed and impressed.

"Whatever these people are they are brilliant. This is beautiful. Just gorgeous." He pointed through the glass. Katie looked through on one of the machines and saw what seemed to be twin gyroscopes spinning at impossibly fast speeds.

"What are they?"

"One creates a time loop, well, starts the reaction that creates the loop. The other creates a temporal pocket that, in this case, slows time down to a crawl."

"Why would you need both?"

"Creating a loop the size of a planet wouldn't do you any good. The rest of the planet would end up stuck in the same loop and you wouldn't get anything done. You have to contain it somehow."

"Is that where the pocket comes in?" Jennifer asked, also looking through the glass.

"Indeed it is Native," a male voice suddenly said. The Doctor, Katie, and Jennifer looked up to see a man in uniform standing off to one side, holding a gun, though it wasn't pointed at them. "The temporal pocket keeps the time loop locked down here where it serves as maintenance for the prisoners."

"General Lathezia," the Doctor said, standing up straight, hands in his trouser pockets. "Fancy seeing you here."

"You are not surprised to see me Doctor," Lathezia said, the sentence a statement rather than a question.

"No, no I'm not," the Doctor said, tugging on an earlobe. "I am surprised you knew who I was though." Lathezia smiled as if he found something funny.

"Where I am from, we all know who you are. You could say that we are born knowing."

"Then you should know better than to leave me with a way to bring in reinforcements, and then to let me anywhere near any sort of temporal generator. And yet you did. Why?"

"Because I couldn't care less if you get out Doctor," Lathezia said with a shrug. "I really wouldn't care too much about the generator either. In truth, I wanted you to get out. What I don't want is you interfering in the war, because if you do you'll go straight to the Iuhins and they'll end up the victors. Of course, all we have to do is take the radioactive materials from them, but that might cause a disturbance."

Katie raised her hand. "Hate to barge in on the riddle session, but wouldn't taking anything from the moon's core upset this planet's tides?"

Lathezia looked at her with a strange mix of awe, curiosity, envy, and loathing. Mostly loathing. "This must be her. It aggravates me to have you so close yet to be unable to do anything about it."

"Sorry, have we met?"

"No, we haven't. At least not in this life and I'm sure we'll never meet again. Lucky for you it's against my blood to damage you, much as I'd like to. They have such plans for you." Lathezia straightened, changing the topic.

"Your observation about the tides is correct, and scientists have pointed it out, but once again I and others like me don't really care what happens to this planet."

"Then why are you doing this?" Jennifer asked. Lathezia barely glanced at her.

"This planet is only a battleground for something much bigger, Native. A fight that has been going on for millennia, and will continue on, at least until we win. But I will have my freedom much sooner than that. I must thank you Doctor," Lathezia continued, turning to him. "Your TARDIS key has already bought me my own life."

"What do you mean, your own life?" the Doctor asked.

"You're Jahra, aren't you?" Katie said quietly. "The Rahki said they'd stop wiping you clean and sending you out again once you bring the key back."

"Quite right," Lathezia said. "And they said you retained nothing from your days in the Lab. I guess even the Changers can be wrong sometimes."

The Doctor looked between Lathezia and Katie. "What is he talking about?"

"The Rahki use their clones over and over again, Doctor. But the Jahra aren't oblivious to the change. The emotions from their last life may leave, but they know who they were. They know what they're used for and they all want out."

"How do you know this? I thought you didn't have any knowledge of the Rahki."

"I was told by another Jahra. He was planning to take me back, but I managed to convince him otherwise."

"When was this?"

Katie paused for a moment. "American Revolution. There was a second operative there besides Jak by the name of Scraw. We got into a discussion when he was setting up the lamps. I convinced him to leave."

"Knowing your programing, I'd say you killed him," Lathezia said smugly. Katie turned her attention back to him.

"If you're Jahra, but don't really care how this space race turns out, then this is a fight between the Rahki and the Krize, which means the Krize are on the other side of this, meaning that they'll likely have someone coming through that door in a few moments, and I'll bet I know who it is." She swung her head towards the door.

"Care to join the party Julius?"

* * *

><p>*Constuctive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Julius strode through the door, carrying his own gun, which he pointed at Lathezia. Lathezia instantly lifted his gun and pointed it at Julius.

"A free clone," Julius said to him. "Your Scorch Project actually succeeded in turning her out. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. She's going to cause problems for you in the future, what with having her Last Cycle uncompleted."

"And whose fault is that, Krize?" Lathezia snarled. Julius smiled.

"Proud of it. I wonder how you plan to start the Final Stage."

"The Changers are clever, Krize," Lathezia spat out. "They can work around simpletons like you. A pity you won't see it."

"I plan to be there as it fails. You, on the other hand, won't be. If nothing else, I can bring you in for impersonating an officer. However, I'm sure all the non-interference laws you're breaking will be enough for execution."

"I know your kind," Lathezia said with a sneer. "You're terribly lenient when it comes to Jahra. After all, we don't have any control over our own fates. We're just tools."

Katie nudged the Doctor with her elbow, getting his attention. She nodded at the generators, then at the arguing men. He nodded back, catching her meaning. Katie stepped slowly backwards, grabbing hold of Jennifer's arm and moving her as well. The Doctor stepped forward, closer to the two men.

"At risk of seeming rude, I'm going to interrupt with a few questions, the first being what the Krize are doing here."

"You're worried about the Krize?" Julius said incredulously.

"Yeah! The Rahki throw their Jahra clones all over the place, but the Krize, well. I don't think I've ever seen them outside of the Centennial Ambassador's Meetings. So what are you doing off your planet?"

"Trying to prevent disaster, Doctor, one that the Rahki have been planning for a very long time."

"What disaster?"

Julius had a pained look on his face, as though he wanted to say but couldn't. "It involves your personal timeline Doctor. Non-interference is key. If we had been able to prevent—" Julius cut of his own words and started again after glancing quickly at Katie. "If we had been able to locate you before the pivotal moment, then we could have warned you."

"What moment?"

"Oh please," Lathezia said, "Are you really that thick? I thought that as the Doctor you knew it all! It's that child you've been toting around, Doctor. She—"

"Say another word and I'll shoot you," Julius snarled, cutting him off.

"And risk upsetting the universe by killing someone before their time?" Lathezia scoffed. "Really, you Krize are far too delicate. I'll show you."

Without warning, Lathezia swung his gun around and fired. Jennifer, who had been standing next to Katie behind the generators dropped, a bullet lodged in her skull. Lathezia turned back to Julius. "See? Simple."

"Simple?"

Julius and Lathezia turned at the sound of Katie's low voice. Her expression was almost cold enough to match the Doctor's. "You just shot a woman whose name you don't even know and you say, 'simple?'"

"I didn't know her. That's what made it simple. It isn't as though you haven't done the same. It's part of your nature, your programming. You can't escape it."

Katie gripped the control panel so hard that the metal started to dent. Though he was infuriated at Jennifer's death, the Doctor didn't want to see Lathezia dead as well. It was against his nature. He spoke up.

"What? Just because she came out of a test tube she's supposed to be like you?"

"Yes," Julius said turning towards him. "Yes she is Doctor and though this goes against everything I believe, I have got to warn you. She—"

There was another report of a gun and Julius collapsed, blood coming from the wound in his throat. His eyes were wide with pain and shock as he tried to breathe.

"You killed him!"

"Oh, he's not dead quite yet. He's just silent, which is what I need him to be. I'd do it again in a heartbeat Scorch," Lathezia said, the word sounding like a swear. "Some secrets are meant to stay that way."

"What secret!" the Doctor said. "What's so huge, so fundamentally important to time that even Jahra Rahki wouldn't risk letting it be known?"

Lathezia was silent for a moment. "The end of a tyranny and the beginning of an empire."

Turning his arm over, he quickly pulled back the sleeve to reveal a wristband before hitting a button on it. There was a small flash. When it was over, Lathezia was still standing there, but Katie and the Doctor knew that this was the real one, not a Jahra copy. Whatever the 'Scorch Project' was, their chance of finding out more about it had just left.

"Step away from that panel," the real Lathezia snarled at Katie. "It took an awful lot of pressure on the Iuhin scientists to set it up."

"Oh, I don't know if I want to leave it. I've grown kind of attached to it," she said, her voice almost cheerful. "Lots of colorful buttons on it. Funny language you people have, but I've managed to work it out. Mostly. Pretty sure. I think." She looked at the Doctor. "It's the red button that you're never supposed to push, right?"

"Mauve actually," he responded in the same cavalier tone. "Red is camp."

"Camp? Like tents and the woods and things?"

"Oh, remind me never to travel with an American again."

"Fine then. I'll just get this over with." Katie slammed her hand down on the mauve button and then rolled to the side. She stayed hunched down for a few moments, expecting some kind of explosion.

The control panel sparked and the sound of the generator died down, giving a loud clunk as a finish. She looked up at the Doctor who was staring at her curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"Isn't there always an explosion?"

"It's temporal energy Kathryn. An explosion would decimate the planet in milliseconds. There's dozens of preventions on those things."

"Oh." She stood up. Lathezia looked stunned, and was a rather sickly shade of green.

"You…you…" His eyes rolled backwards and he passed out, the sudden transfer he had just been put through too much for his body.

"Yeah," the Doctor said, wrinkling his face at the unconscious man. "Just…stay here and work it out. Won't matter soon anyway, the Iuhins will be flooding through here. They'll take care of the other generators."

"Other ones?" Katie questioned.

"Yeah, there'd have to be more than one to cover a planet. Come on, back to TARDIS."

"Just a second," Katie said. She crouched down by Julius still form and went through his pockets carefully, pulling out a CeaXhell and another communicator with Krize markings. Katie put the CeaXhell to broadcast before setting it by Jennifer's body and closing the eyes. She looked at Julian for a moment, then looked at his communicator.

"Kathryn," the Doctor said, holding out his hand. She silently gave him the communicator. He pushed a button on the side and said something in what Katie guessed to be the Krize language. It was very fast paced, reminding her vaguely of Aramaic, though she didn't have the least idea of what he was saying. Katie didn't really want to. The Doctor's voice was low and tight, both of which were very clear signals of suppressed anger.

He finished after a few moments, then soniced the communicator before setting it next to Julius' almost dead body. If he'd been a lesser man, or really anyone other than the Doctor, Katie would have expected him to do something particularly horrid to Julius, though why she got that feeling she wasn't sure. She didn't pause to think about it.

Katie walked out the door, tapping the Doctor's arm as she passed him. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The Iuhin camp was nearly empty when they arrived. They were all out freeing their friends and using the surprise of the Labyrinth while they could. Katie and the Doctor had been very quiet on the walk, but the Doctor beamed when he saw TARDIS.<p>

"A sight for sore eyes. I've certainly missed her."

"Yeah, and you'll have to fix her too," Katie said. "That temporal split in the vortex shook her up pretty bad. Still, she'll make one trip to somewhere."

"That eager to leave?"

"Yes."

The Doctor looked at Katie as she pulled out her key. They never talked about the Rahki or the Krize, or where she really came from. He knew that they were both avoiding the topic, not really wanted to know about why she had been made the way she was. They couldn't dance around it much longer, not after today. Something was coming, something centered on his companion. But it wasn't like with Rose and that whole 'Bad Wolf' thing. It didn't have the same feel to it. 'Bad Wolf' had felt random, a bunch of words simply scattered about, pointing in a general direction. This thing with Katie was planned, organized. Someone had put a lot of time and effort into this, carefully arranging everything. They were still playing behind the scenes somewhere, carefully orchestrating it all. But for what? What would be worth all this?

Not his death; that could have been handled well before now. Jahra-Lathezia could have done it back in the generator room. Something to do with the Krize/Rahki feud? Then what would it have to do with him, and his personal timeline? What had nearly driven a Krize—a strict non-interference at all costs race—to nearly break the rule that had held their planet together for millennia? What was the 'Scorch Project' and why would someone as lax and uncaring about the Laws of Time as a Jahra Rahki kill to keep it a secret?

More importantly, what came next in this huge puzzle?

"Come on Doctor!" Katie called from inside TARDIS. "We've got whole new worlds to discover!"

The Doctor smiled. Whatever she was, it was brilliant. And just a bit frightening, like a reflection in a mirror.

* * *

><p>*Constructive critisisim welcome, praise happily accepted, flames not wanted*<p>

So what'd you think? No seriously, I'd love to get a PM or reveiw on what you readers (of which I think there aren't very many) thought about this last episode, and particularly what you think is really going on with Katie.

Anyway, the next episode should be out soon. "Coup at the Institute." Oh, I can't wait to show you guys.


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